Defibrillator is freely available for Herefordshire community

A defibrillator like the one used to save the life of Danish footballer Christian Eriksen has been installed outside The Little Princess Trust office in Aubrey Street, Hereford.

The lifesaving device was donated to LPT by the Tom Henson Charity and is available for any member of the public to use.

It is mounted on the wall of our offices on the corner of Aubrey Street and Little Berrington Street – and can easily be accessed by calling 999 to receive a code.

The importance of defibrillators was shown when Eriksen collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest during a football match between his Denmark side and Finland on June 12.

The world watched on as emergency medical treatment, including CPR with a defibrillator, was performed on the midfielder on the pitch.

Eriksen has now been discharged from hospital and is following the fortunes of his team-mates from home but the shocking incident highlighted the lifesaving benefits of having quick access to a device which provides a high-energy electric shock to the heart.

We applied for the defibrillator before Eriksen’s cardiac arrest – and the events on the pitch underline the very reason why the request was made.

Phil Brace, Chief Executive of The Little Princess Trust, said: “These defibrillators are incredibly easy to use and the one we have had installed might one day save a life.

“Being located in the heart of Hereford, this is close to many shops and tourist attractions so we are happy to host such an important device for the Herefordshire community.”   

The Tom Henson Charity raises money to put defibrillators into communities. It was started in memory of a young man called Tom Henson who passed away in 2018 after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing football.

As well as buying defibrillators, the Tom Henson charity has also set up an online map to let people know where defibrillators are located around the country.